ASU football players express surprise over coach's firing

When practice began in August, Dale Carr said the 2010 Rams were the best team he’d had at Angelo State. Its 5-5 finish cost him and his staff their jobs.

Patrick Dove/Standard-Times

SAN ANGELO, Texas - The release of Angelo State University head football coach Dale Carr and four of his assistants from their contracts came as a surprise to some and not a surprise to others.

Carr’s release was made public Monday at the weekly Angelo State Athletic Foundation luncheon. Athletic Director Kathleen Brasfield made the statement before the scheduled program.

“His staff is no longer working as football coaches at Angelo State,” Brasfield said. “I want to remind you how much I appreciate what they have done.”

Carr came to ASU in 2005 after nine seasons at Tyler Junior College. In his first year, he led the Rams to a 9-3 season and berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

However, that season was followed by three years with a combined eight victories before the team posted a winning record again in 2009.

The Rams then went 5-5 this year despite Carr’s statements before the season that this year’s team was the best he’d had since arriving at ASU.

Outgoing ASU Athletic Foundation President Wrey Montgomery understands the business side of coaching and said he wishes the departing coaches well.

“It is tough circumstances,” Montgomery said. “Those guys are my friends but at the end of the day, it is always a business, too. I know it was a difficult situation even though I was not involved with it. I know it is a difficult situation at the administration level.

“It was not made lightly. It is just a circumstance of being in this business. I can’t speak for the university but speaking for myself, I wish godspeed and much success to those gentlemen because they will go on and do well. It is a tough day for all of us right now. It really and truly is.”

Incoming Athletic Foundation President Fred Key said he stands behind the decision and those who had to make it.

“I trust the judgment of Kathleen,” Key said. “She is the athletic director and I trust her judgment. Evidently it was time to move in a new direction.”

While the announcement wasn’t a total surprise at Monday’s luncheon, members of the ASU football were stunned when they were told the news Monday morning.

“It was shocking to me,” sophomore wide receiver Dakarai Pecikonis said. “Now I kind of understand why they did it, but it is not my decision. It is out of my hands. I loved the coaches that were here. I liked everything about them and I appreciate them.”

Pecikonis said that he and his teammates didn’t have any idea that the coaching move was coming.

“During the season, there aren’t a lot of ways you can tell,” Pecikonis said. “You are so concentrated on what is going on on the field, you don’t think of something like that.”

Several other players shared Pecikonis’ sentiments.

“It is tough,” redshirt freshman quarterback Blake Hamblin said. “You build a relationship with your coaches and all of a sudden, it is stripped away. You are left wondering what is going to happen. Nobody likes uncertainty. That is what is so tough about this situation.

“I feel like with the things that we have instilled over the past couple of years, we will be able to get through this.”

Pecikonis and Hamblin expressed confidence that Brasfield and the search committee will bring in a suitable replacement for Carr.